Afterwards
by kelakair
Summary: After the Fourth War ended, Minato did not leave but stayed temporarily, and went back to Konoha with the others. Other than Naruto, there was one more person who wanted to spend some extra time with him. Threeshots. Not Yaoi, teacher-student relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer： I don't own Naruto.**

 **I would like to thank SweetDreamsAreMadeOfNaruto for being my Beta reader. You really did me a big favour. Thanks a lot!**

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CHAPTER 1

It was all over.

Kaguya had been defeated, and Team Seven saved the world successfully. It was time to release the Edo Tensei and let the summoned Kages return to where they ought to be. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes, the dead should not interfere with the living, nor should the living bother the dead.

There was only one exception.

Konoha's Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato was still there after the Sage of Six Paths and other Kages had disappeared. When surrounded by startled Konoha shinobi, and being asked about what happened, the blond just scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and said, "Well...Maybe it's because I still miss this world and the people here. Don't worry, I've talked with __him__ ; I'll leave right after finishing what I want to do."

Everyone looked at Naruto knowingly. The father and son had been separated by death soon after the son was born, and when they finally met each other, it was in the battlefield and they did not have much time to talk. Any father would be eager to spend time with his son and stay as long as possible. Since the Sage of Six Paths himself did not hold an opinion against it, they certainly enjoyed seeing these two being reunited.

Therefore, one more special comrade was added to the troop of Konoha when they headed back home.

The war has come to its end, but there were still a lot of things to do afterwards. Rally the soldiers, rearrange the rosters, mourn who were dead and compensate who were left. Fewer spaces in the cemetery, more names carved onto the Memorial Stone.

Half a month after the war was over, a figure appeared on the Training Field 3 in the early morning.

With his hands shoved into his pockets, Hatake Kakashi looked down at the Memorial Stone. Where __the name__ was carved, a piece of coal had been smeared over. It was a total mess now, and impossible to tell whose name was there.

After staring at the stain for a while, Kakashi bent down and picked up the small bucket beside his feet. He went to the river, and filled the bucket. Then he went back, knelt down in front of the stone, and carefully started cleaning away the cinder inside the sharp cuts, until nothing was left and it was back to how it used to be.

 _ _Uchiha Obito.__

After a brief discussion with Minato and Team Seven, and the back-and-forth arguments with the two advisers, Tsunade had decided to keep Obito's name on the Memorial Stone, and kept the fact that it was him who had controlled Kyuubi and attacked Konoha as a secret. However, everyone on the battlefield had seen the two Uchiha standing on the head of Juubi, and the casualties killed by Obito's Mokuton and Juubi's Biju Cannon could not be ignored. They could not, and would not conceal everything. Even though Obito went back to their side in the end, and made great contributions, it could not undo the crimes he'd committed.

Even if the others could let it pass, how could they ever face the Hyuuga, the Nara and the Yamanaka if they had shielded Obito?

So it was expected for Obito's name to be smeared. Either way, Kakashi would thank whoever did this for still respecting the Memorial Stone and Hokage's order, and for not using something sharp to scratch the name with. If it was blackened, then he would just clean it again, and everything would be okay.

No matter how many times.

Kakashi did not care what others would think about what he did, nor what they would say about him behind his back. Anyway, except for a few of his friends, he had since long been considered 'strong but weird and difficult to get along with' by the other citizens of Konoha.

He had faced more rumors and accusations when his father committed the suicide, and when he returned from Kannabi Bridge.

Everyone knew that Obito was his teammate, and after the War, all the shinobi on the battlefield had known that he got his Sharingan from the Uchiha.

Oh. No. He did not have a Sharingan now.

Kakashi stopped cleaning, and raised his free hand to cover his left eye, which was not covered by the forehead protector. Naruto's power of the Six Paths was incredible; the new eye worked perfectly, and he had not felt any discomfort at all. This time, it was the scar, which had been silent for decades that made him felt aching and itchy.

"Is it that you want to say something to me? Obito," Kakashi whispered, staring at the name of his best friend. He smiled sadly after a while. "It's unlikely. You must be chatting happily with Rin right now."

Obito couldn't answer, of course; instead someone else spoke up behind him. "You __did__ come here, Kakashi."

"Please do not use the Haraishin Technique everywhere inside the village, sensei."Sighing, Kakashi dropped the cloth into the bucket, and stood up. "And it's scary for you to suddenly appear behind someone."

"But, even if you say so, I don't see any fright on your face, Kakashi," the blond replied with a smile. He was still wearing the jonin uniform and vest that he had worn back at the battlefield, which had been altered to a short-sleeve pattern due to his damaged arms during the war. It looked weird to have short sleeves in late autumn, but the body from Edo Tensei wouldn't feel warm or cold. So it didn't matter.

Before replying to his sensei's words, Kakashi turned his gaze to the blond's bare arms. Three days after being back to Konoha, Orochimaru had managed to create a pair of new arms for Minato. Even with the Sannin's brilliant technique, the arms could only allow him to do some casual, daily activities. No hand signs or fighting.

"They will work for one month __as most__ , Minato," Orochimaru warned, watching the Forth Hokage curling his fingers clumsily.

"One month is enough for me. Thank you, Orochimaru." Minato sounded content.

Orochimaru snorted and left. Others around looked at each other in silence. One month. Minato could only stay in their world for one month.

And now half of that period had passed.

"Kakashi?" Minato's voice broke through Kakashi's memories.

"Oh...No, never mind. "Kakashi came to himself and looked away. "I wasn't frightened because you have done this so many times in the past."

Like after his father's death, after he thought Obito was dead, after Rin's death...No matter if it was day or night, no matter if he was eating or sleeping, the man had always appeared unexpectedly inside his house, checking on him from hair to toes; until he was annoyed and repeatedly promised that he was fine. Then the man would finally disappear, just as fast as he had appeared.

"Haha...I can't walk around carelessly in the village, after all. I can't make the signs for Henge, you know, and it is troublesome to cover my face every time. And it would be suspicious as well," Minato said, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked around, and there was a fond and wistful expression on his face. "Here... Everything that has happened here seems just like it was yesterday."

Kakashi could say nothing and kept silent.

He could always be insouciant in front of others, burying his face into a small orange book, casually responding to what they said. When it came to something too personal he could always shift the topic with tact. But it would not work when he faced Minato. Not that he was too restrained in front of his sensei, not even totally for his respect towards the blond, it was just...unnecessary, and also impossible, for him to hide his true feelings from the man.

Soon after Kakashi was born, Minato attended his mother's funeral with Jiraiya, and met him for the first time. Before Kakashi went to the Academy, when Sakumo was on a mission, Minato would come to the Hatake house and stay with him, studying scrolls or throwing shuriken. After Kakashi graduated from the Academy, Minato became his sensei officially. When everyone Kakashi was close to had left him one by one, only Minato was still there, until Minato left him as well.

From Kakashi's birth to Minato's death, their relationship had been sometimes intimate, sometimes frigid (Kakashi one-sided, of course), but never broken off during the fourteen years. Namikaze Minato knows Hatake Kakashi's every past, every pain, and every weakness.

He might even know Kakashi's every thought – though most of time, he did not show the insight outright.

Absentmindedly, Kakashi tapped at his forehead protector. He somewhat wished that he could pull it down, and cover both his eyes. So that he would not need to look at the blond, nor meet his eyes.

That's strange – he wanted to have more time with his sensei. They had been separated unexpectedly for sixteen years. However, in fact, they had not spent much time together during the past half month. Most of the time Minato would just stay in Naruto and Sasuke's hospital room, and when Kakashi met him, they had always talked about the village, or Naruto. Kakashi could even count that it was just the third time now that they were alone with each other.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. He could not drag a father away from his son, after all. What's more, no one was more willing than him to see Minato and Naruto together as long as possible, so that Minato could know how excellent Naruto was, and so that Naruto could know what a brilliant person Minato had been.

Even Sasuke went along well with Minato. Both the father and the son had the incredible power that could melt the ice in the heart of the most solitary person, which nobody else could remotely approach, especially not someone like him.

But well...He had been a useless and awful sensei in the first place.

"So…What did you come for, sensei? Why don't you spend more time with Naruto?" When Minato kept silent after sharing his feelings, Kakashi had no other choice but to speak himself.

Minato instantly looked up at him. "Oh well," he said at ease. It did not seem like he had just been brought back to reality from deep thought; it seemed like he was waiting for Kakashi to speak up. "Naruto and Sasuke are leaving the hospital later today."

"Mahh...I think it is time for the two kids to get enough of the hospital. Not surprising at all." Kakashi shrugged, "And if I were them, I would have sneaked out a week ago."

"I don't remember that I have taught you to escape from the hospital, and teach it to your students, Kakashi," the blond said jokingly. "Anyway...Naruto would like to have a small party to celebrate their release, and Sasuke's return to Konoha. Besides Team Seven and me, the guests invited will only include Team Gai, Team Asuma, Team Kurenai and their senseis, as well as Tsunade-sama and Shizune."

"Not bad." Kakashi nodded. "Is it going to be tonight? Everything ready already?"

"Well that's the problem." Minato scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "As you know, after Kushina and I...Er, had died, our belongings were collected and kept by Sandaimei in order to not draw any attentions, and the house was also disposed. Naruto's apartment is too small to have a party in with so many people. So it came to my mind that...Would it be alright if we used __yours__?"

"...Huh?" Kakashi did not realize exactly what Minato meant at first. "Sensei, the Jonin's dorm is not bigger than Naruto's apartment."

"...Ahaha." Minato smiled bashfully. "It's not your dorm we're interested in...It's the __Hatake house__. I heard that you have hired someone to maintain the house every month. So I think...Maybe..."

"..."

Oh, Kakashi thought distantly, I need to have a talk with Godaimei later about __not__ leaking out others' private affairs.

"Can we do that?" Minato widened his eyes and looked at him with full expectation, " _ _Kakashi__?"

Hell. Well done Tsunade. He could never say 'no' to those blue eyes.

"...I'll need to have the house cleaned during the day, sensei."

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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CHAPTER 2

The kitchen and the living room had all been cleaned. Looking around, Kakashi sighed and turned down his sleeves, which he had rolled up to his elbows.

He had moved from the house into the Jonin's Dorm after the Kyuubi Attack. The ostensible excuse was that the dorm was nearer to the ANBU HQ, and it would be more convenient for him to respond when being called, but everyone who knew him also knew the real reason. No one had heard him complaining about going across half of the village to reach the headquarters when the Fourth was still alive.

It had taken twelve years for him to come back here again for the first time since he became the sensei of Team Seven. He had hired several masons to completely renovate the house, and signed a long-term contract with a housekeeper, who would come here on the fifteenth day of every month to do some housecleaning.

But he would only return to the house himself on New Year's Day and on the memorial days of his parents.

Kakashi turned his gaze to the stairs climbing upwards on his right side. On the second floor there was a small balcony, his bedroom, his parents' bedroom, and the study, in which Sakumo ended his own life.

 _There is no use to clean upstairs ... No one will go up there, anyway_ , he thought.

In fact, the doors and windows to the last two rooms were always set up with seals. Every year, it would only be the three days when he came back that he would go in and do the cleaning on his own.

Kakashi went upstairs. Old planks creaked under his feet, and the sound was loud and clear in the silent house. He stopped at the turning towards the second floor, and carefully wiped the shrine which was built into the walls, as well as all the stuff inside.

Then he clapped his hands, and paid his respects to the two photos that were put in glass frames next to each other.

"Father and mother, I came back safely again."

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The party was at six thirty in the evening.

It was just seconds past six when Minato knocked at the door of Kakashi's house, together with Yamato and the four teenagers of Team Seven.

"Wow ... So this is Kakashi sensei's home?" Naruto rushed in first. There was still a piece of gauze on his face, and Kakashi could smell the strong odor of salve from him. But he has regained his full energy, and was now looking around excitedly. "It's pretty big!"

"It's the first time for me to be invited to senpai's house after knowing him for so many years." Yamato came in after him and said impressively. "It's all thanks to Yodaimei-sama."

"Oh really, Tenzou? It occurred to me that I need more green in my backyard." Kakashi looked at his kohai and deadpanned, which made the brown-haired man cringe a little. "And the house is really old; if the girder falls, it will be easy to repair it with your Mokuton. And you can also do some cleaning for me by the way ... It seems that I can just save a bunch of money."

"Please forgive me, senpai!"

"Well, that's really nice," Sai said suddenly.

"What is nice? That I became his slave?!" Yamato shouted bitterly, glaring at him.

"Not that. I mean, it's really nice to have the party in Kakashi sensei's house. "The former ROOT operative tilted his head, and gave his signature smile. "Otherwise, he won't arrive until the party ends."

"Absolutely right! "Naruto and Sakura laughed, and even the corners of Sasuke's lips lifted.

"Where has my prestige as a teacher gone?" Kakashi lowered his head, pretending to be hurt and plaintive.

"Why are you sticking around the doorway, kids? Just go in!" Minato's cheerful voice came from behind. He shut the door, pushed past the others, and stuffed two grocery bags into Kakashi's hands. Then the Fourth Hokage passed his student and went directly to the kitchen, pointing at the couch as he crossed the living room. "You guys sit there, I'm gonna make some tea and get the snacks. Have you prepared those things, Kakashi?"

"Yeah, yeah. All things you need are where they used to be. And I've just had the water boiled," Kakashi answered. He looked at the greens, mushrooms and rolls of raw beef in the bags, tilted his head to motion Yamato to lead the four kids to the living room and take seats. Then he went to the kitchen as well.

"Well dad, you look just like you're in your own home!" Naruto shouted from outside the kitchen.

"Because I'm Kakashi's sensei," Minato said. He lifted the tray with teapots, cups and snacks on it, and went out to the living room. He winked at Kakashi with a smile when they brushed past each other.

Kakashi sighed but couldn't help himself from smiling. He put away the food that Team Seven had brought in one by one, and began washing the greens and mushrooms.

He could hear the six people chatting happily in the living room. For most of the time it was Minato speaking, and the topic was ... Kakashi's childhood. Well at least his sensei had mercy; all he talked about was Kakashi's brilliant achievements as a young prodigy, rather than his several embarrassing moments. However, he somehow still felt awkward, so he preferred to stay in the kitchen, instead of joining in the conservation.

He sighed again. During the Fourth War, Obito's memory had flowed into everyone on the battlefield through chakra, revealing the two bitterest moments for both him and Kakashi to all the shinobi. After the war ended, none of his comrades had come to him with pitying words, which made Kakashi silently grateful.

Now that only left the scandal of his father. Though it had been more than two decades, Konoha's White Fang had been a reputable hero for a long time. There might not be many people who still remembered those days, but what had happened back then was not a deliberately concealed secret, and if someone with authority intended to find it out, he would. His three students were no longer who they had been, and it was not a problem for them now to check documents of higher security classification. Some day in the future, they would finally know everything about him.

Kakashi had never been a person who liked to talk about his past with others. However, he somehow found himself feeling relieved at this thought.

Maybe one day, he could finally let it all go; then he would feel wistful instead of agony and regret when mentioning those names.

In the following half an hour, Team Kurenai, Team Gai and Team Asuma arrived one after another. Minato stopped telling stories of Kakashi's young days when Team Kurenai came in, and the topics turned varied with the increasing number of people.

Chouji took a huge pot with him - Shikamaru had foreseen that it was unlikely for Kakashi to have a pot that was big enough for almost twenty people. The Inu-Shika-Cho also brought some Akimichi's special hot pot sauce, and took over the kitchen, pushing Kakashi, the host, out of the kitchen's door.

It was nearly six thirty, and everything was almost ready, when Tsunade and Shizune finally showed up. The Fifth Hokage had brought a whole basket of sake bottles with her; she gestured to everyone generously, and exclaimed, "Drink them all! Shinobi are considered adults as soon as they can manage on their own! "

 _It's just that she was finally released from the prohibition of alcohol resulted from the serious injury for half a month,_ Kakashi thought with amusement, watching Shizune carrying the basket behind her with a chagrined face,

* * *

Looking at his friends and students crowded around the table, as well as the big steaming pot, Kakashi sat there as if in a trance.

It'd been a long time ... No, what he should say is that it had never been a time that the Hatake house was filled with so many people. It had been at most him and his father, Minato, Jiraiya, and sometimes Sandaimei and his family, which included his wife and two sons; eight people sitting around the table, and that had already been a huge number for him back in his childhood.

And now there were only two out of the eight who were still sitting here, while one of them was a dead man.

"Sensei, don't just sit there, take a bite!"

A piece of meat was put onto his plate. Kakashi regained his consciousness and looked up; he saw his blond-haired student withdraw his chopsticks with a foxy smile on his face.

As if there was a switch turned on by Naruto's words, the other eleven kids stood up one after another, falling over each other to put food onto his plate.

"That's right, have a taste, sensei!" said Sakura.

"It ... It looks delicious, Kakashi-sensei..." said Hinata.

"Try the special sauce from my clan, Kakashi-sensei!" That's Choji.

"Thanks for treating us, Kakashi-sensei!" That's Kiba.

"Hn." Even Sasuke...

Soon there was a small pile of food on his plate. Kakashi blinked and looked around; everyone's plate was as clean as new, except for his. Twelve pairs of narrowed eyes were upon him, watching expectedly.

"Hah!" Tsunade came out with a short laugh.

 _Well ... How adorable_ but _naive these kids are_ , Kakashi thought.

So they thought he had not foreseen this probable situation, did they?

Kakashi threw a look to Yamato on his right, and then to Gai on his left. The two men sitting next to him understood instantly; they stood up as if by prior agreement, picking up a piece of meat with their chopsticks, and sent it to the person sitting directly opposite from themselves - which meant that they reached out their arms crisscross, and just blocked Kakashi between them from the others by doing that.

"Eat it, Lee! You can only burn your youth better when you are not hungry!"

"It should be the wounded to eat first, shouldn't it? Come on, Naruto."

When the two adults returned to their seat, what the twelve teenagers saw was Kakashi's smiling eyes, and the whole empty plate in front of him.

"Well, well," he said idly, "It is really flattering to see I'm such a popular person."

"..." It fell into a dead silence around the table.

"The adults are so nasty." Sai broke the silence first.

"I can't agree more," Shikamaru said. He sat there with his head tilted, an elbow on his knee, and head resting in his palm. Unlike his peers, the Nara prodigy was not astonished or disappointed at all - he had predicted the failure of their plan. "Well, do you really think it is appropriate for you to order Gai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei? He is still with a broken leg."

"What are you talking about, Shikamaru-kun! My youth and my friendship with my eternal rival can never be stopped by a broken leg!"

"Troublesome ..." Shikamaru buried his face into his hands.

"You are such a stingy person, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto murmured with the beef provided by Yamato in his month. "We've won the war and saved the world, and you are not even going to give us a little reward!"

"I've never heard that the reward can be your teacher's face, Naruto," Kakashi answered.

"Hn!" Naruto pouted and turned his head away.

"Well how about a whole set of Icha Icha series, Collector's Edition? Since I've got the Signature Edition instead."

"Nobody wants that except you, you perverted idiot!"

"What about free ramen for one year?" Yamato suggested with a teasing expression on his face.

"Approval!" Naruto turned back immediately with blazing eyes.

"Good. The one with this idea is going to pay the bill." Kakashi put a hand on Yamato's shoulder, "It's yours, Tenzou."

"You are quite cunning, senpai!"

Everyone burst into laugh and said at once: " _Itadakimasu_!"

The corner of Kakashi's lips lifted up under his mask. For the first time after the war, he laughed from the bottom of his heart.

He caught Minato's gaze among the lively crowd. The Fourth Hokage was sitting between Naruto and Sasuke; there was no need for the EdoTensei-ed body to eat, so he could just help the two handicapped teenagers with their meal.

When meeting Kakashi's eyes, Minato gave him a blinding smile.

Kakashi curled his eyes towards his sensei.

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Tsunade left with Shizune right after the dinner - as Hokage, she still had a lot of papers to deal with. The Slug Princess was slightly drunk and blushing, and she claimed with anger that she would one day throw all of this messy stuff to someone else.

She gave a murderous look to a certain sliver-haired shinobi before stepping out of the door.

The rest returned to the living room. Now it was Minato's time; he was sitting on the floor, surrounded by all the kids, and telling interesting anecdotes of those legendary shinobi.

Across half the room, Kakashi, Yamato and Kurenai were leaning against the wall, with Gai sitting in a wheelchair beside them, watching the crowd on the opposite side.

 _How peaceful ..._ Kakashi thought absent-mindedly. _It's just like we've never had a huge war half a month ago._

But that was just illusion. Kakashi turned his eyes onto Naruto and Sasuke's empty sleeves, and the crape around the arms of Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata and Lee.

The pain still existed.

But they were shinobi. They would swallow the pain bravely, holding their heads upright and striding straightforward, hand by hand, shoulder by shoulder.

They were stronger than him.

Tsunade was right. Those noisy brats had grown into reliable shinobi.

"It's decided." Kurenai spoke up suddenly.

The three men all turned to her.

"The baby's name." Kurenai stroked her pregnant belly with downcast eyes. There was a fond expression on her face. "It's ' _future_ '. The name will be Sarutobi Mirai. "

"Wonderful name." Yamato remarked first after a short silence, "Suitable for both boy and girl."

Kurenai nodded, and looked up at their students. She was smiling, and her voice was calm, but there was something shining in her eyes. "I think ... If Asuma were here to see this, he would feel happy and satisfied."

"Don't worry. I will tell him the whole thing when I go back." Another voice suddenly joined in the conversation. The four jonin rapidly turned around, and the three except for Kakashi were caught off-guard; there were few people that were able to sneak up on them without being noticed.

However, it was only natural when the person turned out to be Namikaze Minato.

"Yondaimei-sama!" Kurenai widened her eyes.

"Sensei, come on ..." Kakashi mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. He was not frightened, but Minato's words reminded him of two unpleasant facts.

First, Minato had died; second, he would finally leave.

"Sorry, sorry," Minato apologized without compunction. He looked at the other three Jonin, shaking the two small bottles of sake in his hands. He then pointed upstairs.

"Excuse me, but can you give Kakashi and me a few minutes alone?"

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A/N: Thank Samsara and Titi's nemesis for leaving comments! I love Minato & Kakashi interactions too, and it's really a pity that Kishimoto wrote Minato as Hokage and a father much more than a teacher. So I decided to write something about them by myself! XD

And thank you all for reading! Reviews are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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CHAPTER 3

Minato walked ahead. He stopped at the shrine of Sakumo and his wife, and paid his respect towards them solemnly.

The laughter and chatter was left behind. They stepped onto the second floor, opposite the stairs there was a narrow hallway, and Kakashi's bedroom was right at the end of it.

Kakashi knew Minato must have sensed the seals on the doors to the study and his parents' bedroom when they passed, but the blond said nothing.

They both walked into the bedroom. It might be the only room in the old house with few living traces before today; back to one month ago, it was the Memorial day of Kakashi's mother on September the 17th, and he had stayed here overnight then. The room was rather empty, most of the daily supplies had been removed, and there was only several pieces of large furniture left.

It had become dark outside. Moonlight flooded in through the window, lighting up the house indoors. Lamplight was not necessary to the two shinobi with outstanding night vision. Minato sat on the floor with his back to the window, placing the bottles of sake in front of him, and looked up to Kakashi.

Kakashi reached behind himself and shut the door. The sounds downstairs were instantly blocked out, and the room fell into silence. Mixed emotions rose up from the bottom of his chest - delighted and sorrowful, eager and hesitant, relieved and nervous at the same time.

He had been waiting for a conversation like this. He knew it would finally come.

He was his only student _alive_ after all.

Kakashi sat down, face to face with Minato, and tugged down his mask. Neither of them spoke up; they just toasted each other silently and sipped their own sake.

Kakashi never drank unless on special occasions. He had been used to stay alert all the time, while alcohol could make his senses dull. And he was rational enough to know that drunkenness might numb his mind temporarily, but it could never really subside his agony.

Not to mention drinking with his sensei. He was even younger than Naruto when Minato passed away. If it was counted according to Tsunade's standard today ... Kakashi wasn't even sure whether he was qualified now.

Minato put his bottle onto the floor, and the sound broke through Kakashi's scattered thoughts.

"If I had known my death would come so early, I would _never_ have allowed you to enter ANBU," he said suddenly.

 _"I'm sorry, Kakashi."_

The sake in his month turned bitter in a moment. Kakashi almost crumbled the bottle.

He had come up with several words that Minato would probably say during the seconds walking from the doorway and sitting here. Such as "It's been a long time since we talked alone like this", or "If only Obito and Rin could be here as well", even the most conventional "How have you been doing these years."

But he had never expected Minato to begin with this.

It was...too straightforward.

He swallowed the sake hard and then spoke up, staring down at his own hand. "Sensei ... There's no need for you to apologize. No one can predict the future," he said. "You sacrificed yourself for the village, and you are the hero of Konoha, and you ..."

"Kakashi, look at me."

Hesitantly, Kakashi looked up and met Minato's eyes. The whites of his eyes were dark, and the clear blue pupils were full of sadness.

The Edo Tensei-ed body couldn't cry.

"I've never asked anyone about it, but I know... you had a really hard time then."

The fingers on his knees twitched involuntarily. Kakashi held back his urge to pull up the mask.

Y _es, I had a hard time,_ a voice answered at the back of his head. _I kept having nightmares every night, dreaming about father falling to the floor, Obito with half of his body crushed, Rin with a hole in her chest, and you and Kushina lying in a pool of blood, under Kyuubi's claws. Once I had killed someone, the process would be repeated in my dream that night, and the faces of the dead would be changed to yours._

 _It felt like my sanity had been split into two parts. A part of me was lying on the ground, scarred and broken, waiting to bleed to death, desiring to meet you all again; the other part of me was struggling, managing to stand up from the mud, carrying on everything you guys had left to me, gritting my teeth to live on. I always felt both disappointed and lucky when I thought I would die but instead found myself in the hospital when awake._

 _Even if I was once eager to become a tool, with no emotions or mind, to not feel fatigue or pain, I understood shinobi were_ human _in the end._

"I ... I'm pretty good _right now_ ," he finally said after a while.

"Really, Kakashi? You didn't deny what I said."

Kakashi didn't answer.

"I'm really an awful teacher, aren't I?" Minato said, lowered his eyes. There was a bitter smile on his face. "Obito was right. I've always been too late when it's important. If I'd been faster, maybe Obito wouldn't have been crushed under the boulder. If I'd been faster, maybe Rin wouldn't have had to die by your hand. If I'd recognized it was Obito that time ... maybe many things would have turned out in a different way."

"I failed to protect my students. All of you."

The depression and frustration in the blond's voice made Kakashi's heart heavy and his throat tight. He didn't like that.

Konoha's Yellow Flash should always be undefeated and invincible, never lose his smile and confidence; back to teenage days Kakashi might never have admitted it, but it was indeed his true belief. After father's death, he had lived in the dark, and Namikaze Minato was his only bay of heart, his unique light.

Though he had been too old to be naive, and had already understood that nobody was immortal, still, he could not stand seeing Minato so depressed, admitting his own failure.

"No!"

Crush!

His voice was so loud that it even startled himself. The porcelain bottle was crumbed, and the scent of sake started to fill the air. A fragment cut his finger, he stared at the bleeding wound, but had no desire to wrap it up.

"It's not your fault, sensei." He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down. "It's ... mine."

 _If I'd returned earlier to help Obito, maybe we could have rescued Rin more successfully, and he wouldn't have been crushed under the boulder. If I'd been able to protect Rin, maybe she wouldn't have been captured by Mist, and wouldn't have been compelled to commit suicide by my hand, and Obito who had witnessed it wouldn't have become disappointed with the world and fallen into the darkness. Then he wouldn't have manipulated Kyuubi to attack the village, you and Kushina wouldn't have died, and Naruto wouldn't have had such a miserable childhood._

 _If only I could have understood the significance of teamwork, and realized how important you all were to me earlier, everything might have turned out differently._

 _I failed to take care of Naruto after you and Kushina's death as well. For secrecy and security, the Third had forbidden anyone relevant to you to approach him before his graduation from Academy. With this command, I felt justified to block him out of my mind. I even crossed out my name from the roster of ANBU who took turns to monitor him in secret. I buried myself in my own sorrow, and turned a blind eye to his hard situation. I was afraid to see him, which would remind me of you, Kushina, and Obito. I was a coward._

 _If only I could have accompanied him when he felt lonely, comforted him when he felt sad, given him a hand when he felt helpless; even if just a tiny bit of time, and with the ANBU mask on my face, he would have never known that it'd been me and maybe his past wouldn't have been full of pain like it was._

 _You was always by my side when I was in my most desperate period, but when your son faced the same situation, I did nothing for him._

 _I'm not only an awful teacher, but also an awful student._

"But you were only a kid yourself then, Kakashi."

A hand gently held his bleeding hand. Kakashi gazed up blankly, and met Minato's mild eyes. It was only now he realized that he had been saying those words aloud.

"What's more, even though you've grown up, taller and older than I was, to me, you are still a kid."

A feeling that Kakashi hadn't felt for years rose up from his chest, forming a lump in his throat, making him feel his tear ducts burning.

 _How strange,_ he thought. _I've lost Obito's eye._

Minato squeezed his hand as a silent urge. Without words, Kakashi drew out a first aid bandage from the pouch and handed it over. Minato took it and tore open the wrapper.

Kakashi didn't move. He just sat there, watching his sensei binding up the wound and tie a crappy knot with his clumsy fingers.

For a moment, it was as if he had been back to the days before attending Academy. They had been practicing throwing kunais in the backyard of the house, and he had cut himself by accident; Minato of that time had bandaged him awkwardly, taking care not to hurt him, just like what he was doing right now.

It'd been a long gone memory that he thought he had forgotten already, but emerged from the bottom of his mind at this point, and appeared to be so clear and vivid.

"I'm not worried about Naruto." After dealing with the wound, Minato didn't let go of Kakashi's hand, but covered it with his other hand instead. "He will carry through his ninja way, striding forward unswervingly; he will make his dream come true, and become the greatest Hokage ever. He has long since surpassed me. You and Jiraiya-sensei have taught him well."

"He will certainly face dilemmas, and feel dejected and bewildered sometimes; but he has his friends, and you. You are the sempai, the sensei, the elder brother he respect. You will help him, support him, and guide him. You will become his prop that he can rely on. So I feel relieved with him."

"The one whom I'm worried about is _you_ , Kakashi."

"I ... " _I'm a man in my thirties, there is no need to be worried about me. I've survived no matter how hard the time had been in the past._ Kakashi would like to answer like this, but he just choked up and couldn't utter a word.

Naruto have become the world's savior, but still a kid in his eyes; presumably it was just the same as him in Minato-sensei's eyes.

"After what happened in the Fourth War, will you be able to put down everything in your heart, and bid a good farewell to the past? Who can help you when you face dilemmas? Who can support you when you are dejected? Who can guide you when you are bewildered? Who can become the prop that you can rely on?"

"Can you make me a promise, that you will live a good life?"

Minato's hands on his hand gradually tightened up, and it almost felt painful. But the blond was unaware; he was just keeping a close watch on him, with anxieties and concerns written across his face, eager to get an answer from him.

For a while Kakashi even had an illusion: his reply was so important, that the dead in front of him still hovered in the world of living, refusing to leave and rest in peace, was all because he wanted his promise.

"I ... I'll put it down," he said quietly after a long silence. "Maybe not now, maybe not very soon, but one day, I'll let it all go. I met Obito and you again, Minato-sensei, and fought together with you one more time. I was satisfied. I was happy."

"I'm going to do everything I can to help Naruto, and I'm sure he will do everything he can to help me. Despite being my student, he has saved me many times, more than just my life. I still have Sasuke, Sakura, Tenzou, Gai, and all my friends. I still have you guys. Even though I can no more see you, I know you are forever alive in my heart, watching me in the heaven. Everything you left have guided me forward in the past, and it's still and will be the same in the present and future."

"What I said was true. I'm indeed pretty good right now, and will be fine from now on. I will live a good life. _I promise_."

The anxious expression on Minato's face disappeared, and there was genuine and gratified smile instead.

"Really? Then I can finally put my mind at rest."

He reached out and put a hand on the top of Kakashi's head, ruffling his hair fondly.

Back to his boyhood, Kakashi would impatiently pat away Minato's hand before being touched; but now he only wished the hand on his head could stay longer, and longer.

His eyesight got blurred, and the figure in front of him became vague.

 _It must result from the odor of sake,_ he thought.

Then the dim figure spoke up.

"It's time for me to leave, Kakashi. I've finished what I want to do."

The hand on his head left. Minato stood up; out of the window, blinding white light burst out and immediately filled the whole room. And Minato was in the light, facing him, moving back step by step.

Kakashi's eyes widened. His vision suddenly become clear again, something warm and wet slid down from his cheeks, but he paid no attention to it. He tried to stand up and stop the blond from leaving, but his legs felt so weak, as if he the alcohol had stolen all his strength.

He could only sit there vainly, watching the distance between him and Minato increase little by little.

"Sensei -!" He shouted with anguish. His heart was grasped by fear; he reached out his arms, hoping to grab the hem of the man's vest.

But Minato has turned around and jumped onto the windowsill. Putting one hand onto the top of the window frame, the Yellow Flash looked back over his shoulder for the last time, beaming at Kakashi.

He opened his mouth.

The white light grew stronger.

Before losing his consciousness in the light, Kakashi succeeded in reading his sensei's lips despite the lack of Sharingan.

* * *

...

Kakashi opened his eyes slowly. His vision turned from dim to bright, and vague to clear. The first thing he saw was a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Sensei ..." he whispered. His damp breath formed steam on the inner side of the oxygen mask.

" _Sensei_ ," The owner of the blue eyes replied with the same word. There was relief and delight in his voice. "Finally you wake up!"

Kakashi blinked once, and twice.

His mind was like a rusty machine which started working again at last. He moved his gaze away from Naruto and looked around; he saw several familiar faces, and everyone looked tired and haggard.

He found himself lying in a sickbed, with a needle in his arm, nose and mouth covered by an oxygen mask.

 _I'm not with my own mask_ \- Kakashi dully realized. His most and least important secret was revealed.

But nobody around him made any comments about his face.

"Sensei you idiot! When will you ever learn to take care of yourself?!" Sakura was standing at the left side of his bed. Seeing Kakashi's discomfort, his female student reached out her hands with glowing green, easing his painful joints. Despite her fierce tone, she got red eye rims and nose, and a chocking voice. "You suddenly collapsed on the way back to Konoha, and you have been in a coma for two weeks!"

 _Oh. Two weeks. That meant they've seen enough._

"Even Naruto and I have been released from the hospital." Sasuke snorted. He was standing at the end of the bed, and there were concerns in his eyes that were not very well hidden. "You are such a lame duck, Kakashi."

"Damn it. Did anyone remember that I was badly injured with a literally broken waist myself? And I had to bother healing you, brat! Can't you just give me one minute that I don't have to keep an eye on you?" There was the sound of high heels, and then Tsunade came along, jabbing her finger at Kakashi's forehead without actually touching him. "I almost thought I'd need to pick out another successor!"

"S ... sorry, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi stammered, looking at the finger which had the power to pierce through his skull, "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto came over again. He looked up at Tsunade, and then removed the oxygen mask carefully after her approval. "How are you feeling now?"

Kakashi looked into his eyes. The eyes that were exactly like Minato-sensei's. The owner of the eyes was looking at him, giving him the final blessing.

-You must be happy, Kakashi.

 _I will, sensei._

The corners of his lips lifted up. Kakashi curled his eyes into a smile.

"I'm fine," he answered. "I just had a good dream."

(THE END)

* * *

 **A/N: Thank Samsara, Prescripto 13 and Shadow. SSJ for leaving comments!**

 **Prescripto 13 - I hope it's still there, too. Although Kakashi no longer lived there, it's his home and carries the memories of him with his father after all...**

 **Samsara - Yeah he really kept his face as a top secret! And the kids were all dying to see it, but the adults who might had seen his face before, in this case, was always on his side! :P**

 **Thank you all for reading! Reviews are appreciated.**


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